Diff’rent Strokes for Diff’rent Folks

Republican Cory Gardner of Colorado and Democrat Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts introduced the bill in the Senate. Republican David Joyce of Ohio and Democrat Earl Blumenauer of Oregon are co-sponsors of the bill they introduced in the House of Representatives. Upon introduction of the bill, its creators emphasized that their legislation would not make marijuana legal throughout the country – as if the name of the bill and its acronym weren’t revealing enough.

With the STATES Act, it will be nigh impossible for Conservatives to justify their opposition of the bill by calling it an endorsement of drug use. Politicians representing states that border states with adult-use or medical marijuana laws could claim the bill would only stretch their law enforcement and judicial budgets even thinner, but they couldn’t misrepresent the legislation to their constituents as an attempt to legalize marijuana. They could even request additional federal funding to address the increased law enforcement and judicial workload they anticipate, but they couldn’t vote “no” with the excuse of “I’m not about to legalize marijuana.” I mean, they could say that in their defense, but not without subjecting themselves to ridicule.

Giving more power to the states appeals to Republicans, Libertarians and even some Democrats. Hell, I’m a Socialist, and I support small government because I know Socialism, like all forms of governing, works most effectively and efficiently in people’s behalf when the number of people it governs is small and when that population is concentrated in a governable geographic area. Why? The answer was provided by the late Alan Thicke back in 1978: “Now, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum. What might be right for you, may not be right for some.”

Those are, of course, the opening lyrics to the “Diff’rent Strokes” theme song, and a more true statement could not be uttered let alone sung. The United States is a vast country that spans the spectrum of both geography and demography, which makes it difficult to govern. Americans experience such differing circumstances that what might be right for you, may not be right for some. Hell, in my home state of Montana you can drive eight hours and never leave the state, but the geography and the people change immensely. What works in the West probably won’t work in the East and vice versa. Marijuana legalization might be right for Californians, but it may not be right for Nebraskans. The STATES Act would allow states to choose what cannabis laws work best for their residents.

STATES Act Not the First, Hopefully the Last of its Kind

This isn’t the first time a bipartisan bill has been introduced to strengthen states’ rights to adopt and enforce marijuana laws as they see fit. I was on Capitol Hill as a student lobbyist for Students for Sensible Drug Policy five years ago when H.R. 1523, the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2013, was before the 113th Congress. It too sought to allow states to decide the legality of adult-use and medical marijuana by altering the Controlled Substances Act to exclude persons acting in compliance with state marijuana laws.

STATES Act Lets States Decide Cannabis Laws Right for Them

This bipartisan group has high hopes for the STATES Act given what’s occurred since H.R. 1523 was introduced. The STATES Act does what H.R. 1523 would have. It amends the Controlled Substances Act to exclude persons acting in compliance with state and tribal marijuana laws. But it doesn’t eliminate all federal oversight. Distribution of cannabis at transportation facilities and rest stops would remain federally illegal and enforced. The STATES Act does a lot more than allow states to determine their own marijuana laws, though. It also addresses some of the issues that have resulted from states legalizing adult-use or medical marijuana, which should appeal to both sides of the aisle.

STATES Act Makes Marijuana Transactions Federally Legal, Finally

The STATES Act would make cannabis transactions legal, allowing cannabis providers to take methods of payment besides cash and store that money in a bank. Cannabis providers have had a justifiable fear of depositing their profits in federal banks subject to federal law. The federal government could seize those assets like they seize vehicles used to traffic drugs. No criminal charges need to be brought against the cannabis providers for them to lose their money either, as asset forfeiture is a civil action, not criminal.

Your Senators and Representatives are not experts on cannabis and need you to inform them on the issue, so here’s a guide on how to do so most effectively. You’ll want to appeal to the humanity in them. Politicians are not cold robots. When they hear a story about someone using cannabis to treat their chronic back pain that otherwise would keep them bedridden, they can probably relate to that. They especially want to know if cannabis helped you kick your opioid addiction. They have friends and family struggling with the same problems with which the rest of us struggle, so speak or write from the heart. The facts will only bore them to the point they tune you out.

Each week at Foul Play-by-Play we cover the law-related, sports stories, including the Colangelo Twitter scandal, and we dive deeper into a possible cheerleaders' union with former union rep and sports-labor expert Al Neal of PeoplesWorld.org and GrandstandCentral.com. Here are your headlines, "Cheats of the Week," "Historically Foul Play" and "Statistically Significant Foul Player" for the week ending June 10.

An independent investigation found Colangelo to be the source of the sensitive information shared by his wife, Barbara Bottini. Colangelo said his wife was “operating without his consent” and that “at no point did I ever purposefully or directly share any sensitive, non-public, club-related information with her.” So how did she come across this information? You say you didn’t directly share sensitive information, so sas she getting it from someone else in the organization? You say you didn’t share it on purpose, so was it shared in the throes of passion?

Barbara taking the blame on this obviously doesn’t make Bryan innocent. She can’t be guilty without having an accomplice giving her the information. It’s a miracle, frankly, Bryan Colangelo wasn’t fired. The Sixers are either being incredibly nice or didn’t want to file the paperwork to fire the man because sharing trade information is a fireable offense.

I don’t see Colangelo working again, regardless of this being a resignation and not a firing. Even if he didn’t know about the Twitter accounts, he still shared sensitive information with someone he shouldn’t. When there’s a big trade on the table at work, you don’t go home at lunch and spill the beans to your wife before it’s final. You don’t spill the beans to anyone outside the organizations involved.

Delaware Sees $322,000+ in Sports Wagers on First Day of Legal Betting

Delaware was already offering parlay betting during the federal ban since 2009 and built sportsbooks within its casinos, waiting for the end of the federal ban. It’s estimated that $350 million to $760 million could be wagered annually if online betting is fully implemented.

Mother of G Leaguer Sues NBA after Son Collapses on Court, Dies Two Days Later

The mother of Zeke Upshaw, former swingman for Detroit Pistons’ G League affiliate Grand Rapids Drive who collapsed on the court and died two days later, has filed a lawsuit accusing the NBA and the Detroit Pistons of negligence.

Upshaw, 26, collapsed during a game in Grand Rapids on March 24 and died two days later of what a Grand Rapids medical examiner called a sudden cardiac death with cardiac abnormalities. Upshaw had a “slightly enlarged” heart, which is not entirely unusual in athletes and could be unrelated to his death, but the Grand Rapids team doctor was not at the arena when Upshaw collapsed on March 24, so life-saving measures were not attempted, no CPR initiated and no defibrillator used, but Upshaw died two days later.

This isn’t the first time NFL cheerleaders have sued their employers. I wrote a column for the Livingston Enterpriseabout the Oakland Raiders’ cheerleaders who sued citing similar allegations back in 2014 or so, and spoke to their attorney who recommended NFL cheerleaders unionize. During my painstaking research of NFL cheerleaders, I found that each NFL team employs between 32 and 42 cheerleaders. With 32 NFL teams that brings the total number of cheerleaders employed by the NFL to just over 1,000, which isn’t enough to form a union with any real bargaining power, so this union will have to be formed of cheerleaders and dancers across all sports.

There are usually about 20 Laker Girls employed every season, but the Timberwolves have just 13 dancers. If each NBA team has about 15 dancers, that’s another 450 potential union members.

The Vegas Golden Knights held auditions to fill 40 positions on its ice, cheer and gameday crews, however, so these jobs aren’t going anywhere. With another 30 teams employing at least another dozen entertainers, and I’ll get to why it’s 30 and not 31 in the Historically Foul Play segment, that’s 360 more potential union members, bringing the total to just over 1,800. If we include mascots in the union, there’s at least another 123 union members to get us closer to 2,000. But won’t there always be cheaper bodies to objectify regardless of whether a cheerleaders’ union is formed and regardless of how encompassing its membership is? I just don’t think the backlash from having less attractive or less entertaining cheerleaders would affect the NFL owners’ bottom line.

Historically Foul Play

I promised I’d tell you why just 30 NHL teams employ “ice girls,” and here’s why. In December of 2007, the media’s and masses’ eyes were affixed to a New York Knicks scandal involving former coach Isiah Thomas, who was found by a jury to be guilty of sexual harassment. The plaintiff, a former Knicks’ executive, was awarded $11.5 million in damages, paid by the owners of Madison Square Garden. But that wasn’t the only foul play in the Garden at the time.

Three days after the Thomas verdict, a settlement between Madison Square Garden and a former captain of the New York Rangers’ cheerleader squad flew under the radar. (Court documents of lawsuit filed.) No details were released, but the accuser alleged that her supervisor, Ryan Halkatt, told her which skaters had to lose weight or “stuff their bras” to appear more alluring. That was the last year the Rangers had “ice girls.”

Statistically Significant Foul Player

Sticking with hockey, the Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. Their statistically significant foul player is, of course, Tom Wilson, who spent twice as much time in the penalty box as the next most penalized player on his team. His 187 penalty minutes during the regular season was just 25 off the pace set by Florida’s Micheal Haley this year. Haley’s 212 penalty minutes in a single season doesn’t even put him in the top 250 all-time. The NHL record for penalty minutes accessed in a season is 472 by Dave Schultz in the 1974-75 season. That’s more than five games spent in the penalty box.

Silver medalist: Free agent left-handed reliever Fernando Abad received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for Stanozolol. A lengthy appeals process will make this a short ban for Abad, as the suspension began upon the filing of the appeal. Any team who signs Abad knows he must sit out most of this month, but given the overuse of Ryan Pressly, Abad would be a great fit for the Minnesota Twins. Their splits work out well together, as Abad has been more effective against lefties in his career and Pressly righties, with neither being that bad in either situation. If you’re Paul Molitor, you have to like being able to bring in Abad when two of the next three batters are lefties and Pressly when two of the three are righties.

Gold medalist: Boston Red Sox fans used the flashlights on their phones to distract Detroit Tigers hitters, angering manager Ron Gardenhire, who we know runs hot. The foul play caused a short delay in the seventh inning as security asked fans in the center field sections of Fenway Park to stop using the lights on their cell phones to distract batters for obvious safety reasons. Red Sox manager Alex Cora called it “a good weapon,” which it very well could be if someone were to be hit in the face with a fastball because they’ve been blinded by a flashlight.